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Taking Technology
Southwestern States - North America The Southwest covers such vastly different states as California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. New Mexico is a land of broken mesas and high peaks. Colorado has the Rocky Mountains running north-south through the center of the state, and the arid Colorado Plateau to the west, with its many canyons carved by the Colorado River. Spectacularly scenic Utah shares both the Rockies and the Colorado Plateau with Colorado. Nevada lies mostly in the Great Basin, its mountain ranges and high plateaus alternating with valleys running north to east. Contents: Dustoff Obvious exits: Fly leads to Skies above the Western United States. North leads to Northwestern States. Northeast leads to North Central States. East leads to South Central States. West leads to North Pacific - North American Coast. Nevada California Arizona Melody Reynolds has arrived. With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. In a ridiculously complicated series of twists, turns, and noises, Dustoff transforms into a STORM SRT-V. Space Shuttle flies over the Arizona desert towards a military base. Galvatron has issued orders for Decepticons to steal resources from the humans and to sow chaos. Having already been in the area with his fellow Combaticons, the shuttle knows there are several military installations here with cutting-edge weaponry that are just ripe for the picking. The base he attacked earlier is probably too heavily guarded after the earlier attack, but earlier reconnaissance informed him of several other interesting locations. He nears the base, radioing to Dustoff: <> Triggerhappy descends from the skies above. Triggerhappy has arrived. You NEVER go anywhere without a medic. At least BO's learned that much. Dustoff's not so much taking his time, as the combaticon insinuates, but he isn't exactly caring about the fact he has to go off-roading to get there. The medic's burning up dirt trails at speeds best left for the suicidals, leaving a trail of dust in his wake as some of Earth's finest country music blares on the radio. <> Right about then, the buggy pulls a nice Dukes-of-Hazard over a rocky outcropping, suspension protesting the landing but holding out all the same. <> The problem with raiding advanced weapons facilities? They tend to have advanced weapons there. Case in point, Lt. Melody Reynolds strides across the small outpost in her state-of-the-art exosuit, calmly issuing orders through her radio- "Two...make that potentially three purples on the radar- I'm moving to intercept- I'll buy you some time, but all non-combat personnel should get to cover. I'm guessing they're here after that experimental missile system you've been working on- get the techs to disconnect the fire computer and hide it, smash it if they have to, to make sure these creeps don't get the most valuable parts." Melody reaches back, pulling out her battle rifle- reflexively checking the sights, the ammo, and everything else she needs. Her armor whirrs smoothly into place, and Melody settles into a kneeling position behind a concrete barricade. "Here comes the fun part." she deadpans. Melody suits up and activates her battlesuit! Andi Lassiter arrives from the California to the west. Andi Lassiter has arrived. Yep, she's right about three hostiles, there are quite plainly three Decepticon energy signatures headed that way. Even if one of them is Triggerhappy and therefore doesn't quite count as a real Decepticon. Well, he tries, okay? <> The Targetmaster begins. <> Now that Blast Off outranks him, it's the Combaticon's job to know and not his. Which is nice, honestly. Space Shuttle sniffs again at Dustoff's comments. <> But it's true.... Blast Off (aka glass cannon) greatly benefits from having a medic around. Especially if he's forced to bring Triggerhappy along. The shuttle radios the two of them: <> Blast Off is still getting used to the whole "leadership" deal, when he'd really rather just work alone... but he's doing the best he can, too. The shuttle dives down towards the base, launching an orbital bombardement that takes out a watch tower in the front of the military installation. Storm SRT-V hits the open expanse of 'no-mans-land' surrounding the base and floors it now that obstacles are no longer a worry, canisters mounted on his framework unleashing a nice smokescreen to help obscure anyone targeting him. Besides, they should shoot Blast Off first, anyway. <> Combat: Storm SRT-V strikes Battlesuit with his Dust Storm Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Battlesuit 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Storm SRT-V misses Space Shuttle with his Dust Storm Area attack! Combat: Storm SRT-V strikes Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter with his Dust Storm Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter 's Accuracy. (Blinded) ____ ____ ___ _ _ | ___| | _ \ / __| | | | | | ___| | |_) | | (__ |_| |_| |____| |____/ \___| (_) (_) Battlesuit grits her teeth behind her faceplate as the first few shots are fired- and then there's a 'copter swooping in, kicking up all kinds of dust! She wipes her faceplate clean, but murmurs a choice few obscenities anyway- She still pops up from her barricade, just in time to show Dustoff that yes, there -IS- some nutcase in an exo-suit here! Melody raises her rifle to her shoulder in a smooth, practiced motion- and she flicks a button on the side, switching to the underslung grenade launcher- and then *FOONK!* The grenade sails through the air, and then explodes in a crackling, blinding cloud of static electricity! Can't be pleasant to fly through- but who knows how much her aim's thrown off by the cloud? Combat: Battlesuit misses Storm SRT-V with her Stun Grenade attack! <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Oh dear, they're shooting at the medic again." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "They really don't seem to like you, do they? You don't owe them something, do you?" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Owe them? Pfft. Naaah. No one's bought me an enerbeer in a while." Andi Lassiter doesn't normally frequent this particular part of the US, but when she's asked to stop in and crunch the telemetry data for a new experimental missile that apparently can be used with both EDC and Autobot tech interchangeably... well, she couldn't say no. Though now she's starting to regret it a bit as a klaxon blares, alerting the base to what looks like a Decepticon raid. "Not again," she sighs, then hustles to help the other scientists lock the prototypes and accompanying data in a hopefully Cybertronian-proof vault. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Blargh, dust and static electricity, and stuff! It's hard enough for Triggerhappy to hit the proper targets -without- all that messing with his targeting arrays. <> Then again, his job is to create a diversion. And creating a diversion doesn't necessarily require much aiming. Maybe that's why he's here in the first place. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter misses Battlesuit with his Aiming Not Required (Full-Auto) Area attack! -1 Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Andi Lassiter with his Aiming Not Required (Full-Auto) Area attack! -1 Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Space Shuttle with his Aiming Not Required (Full-Auto) Area attack! -1 Combat: You took 6 damage. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Storm SRT-V with his Aiming Not Required (Full-Auto) Area attack! -1 You say, "> He also leaves out the fact that he had a lot of difficulty lifting the objects he encountered last time... this time he'll let someone else do the hard physical work. Dustoff kicks up a huge dust cloud, but the very fast shuttle easily evades the mess with a annoyed huff, circling up and away. Then he swings back down towards the ground, wing elevons shifting as he comes in closer to the base, side lasers firing as he tries to take out resistance. Then- well, would you look at that. Seeing Dustoff's fear come true, the shuttle flies back towards him. <> And he fires on the source of Dustoff's attack. Only to BE fired upon by triggerhappy, who strikes him as his attention is on the human. <>" <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy snickers. Combat: Space Shuttle misses Battlesuit with his Diversionary Tactics (Laser) attack! Storm SRT-V hehs. <> And just about that moment, the explosion from Melody's grenade rockets the dirt he's traveling through, charging the dust with a dazzling display of electricity and giving anyone watching a nice light show... Not that Dustoff cares about light shows, because Triggerhappy blasts the area with enough hot lead to send him careening off-course and crashing through those inevitable generic crates that always seem to be stacked up nearby for no reason whatsoever. He grunts, rolling and transforming, a few choice obscenities yelled into the comms before checking his rifle. <> He checks his ammo, no sense going in with an empty gun, and sighs before getting on the move. "Let's see... weapons locker... hmm... Where are you..." Hopefully, the attention's shifted to the shooty-ones. Combat: Storm SRT-V sets his defense level to Protected. In a ridiculously complicated series of twists, turns, and noises, Dustoff's SRT-V form is shed to reveal a ruggedly handsome mech. Combat: Dustoff takes extra time to steady himself. Pass <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy secretly thinks his teammates' reactions to him accidentally shooting them is hilarious. <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Is something amusing, Triggerhappy?" <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy chuckles. "Amusing? Oh..uh...well gee I dunno..." More snickering. <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "I'm cutting out your optics." Battlesuit doesn't see if her grenade does any good in the dust storm- 'cause she's suddenly being shot at! Melody ducks back behind her barricade, wincing as lasers shear off chunks of concrete all around her. "All in a day's work, right?" she says to herself- And then, Melody's on the move! She tenses her legs, and leaps into the fray, sailing through the air courtesy of the heavy springs in her suit's leg joints. Melody lands, tucks into a shoulder roll, and then gets back to her feet- which just so happens to give her a good view of Blast Off's engine exhaust- and so, Melody sights in on those glowing cones, and fires off a long burst from her rifle! *BRAAAP!* Combat: Battlesuit misses Space Shuttle with her Battle Rifle attack! <'Decepticon'> Harrow says, "Heh heh." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Ah, now THAT would be amusing, Dustoff." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Oh really? Haha! Then I'll -really- have a good excuse to 'accidentally' shoot yoU!" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Uh huh. Let's get there, first." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "You will do no such thing under MY command. Focus on your job- which does NOT include shooting your own team." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy laughs. <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "..." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "What, you said to create a diversion, so that's what I'm doing!" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "FOR THEM. Not us." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Well Dustoff got his dust in my vents! So if he can do it, why can't I?" Andi Lassiter is scrambling to get clear of the incoming attacks along with all of the other science-types, but isn't fast enough to avoid a ricocheting bit of shrapnel from that one Decepitcon spraying ordinance everywhere. She yelps and hisses as she looks at wound on her arm, then yells at the others, "Keep going!" She doesn't even have a bulletproof vest on, but she's going to do what she can to at least slow these guys down from whatever their goal is. She hears the smashing of shipping crates nearby and a mech's voice, and shrinks back to hide around a corner hopefully out of Dustoff's line of sight. And she pulls a laser scalpel from her everpresent shoulder bag. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Dustoff is still shaking off the fact that Triggerhappy tried to ventilate him. Again. He hardly notices anything out of the ordinary since he's really trying not to draw as much attention as he rightfully ought to. <> He ducks towards a bunker and looks the heavy door over, shouldering his rifle and pulling out his own laser-scalpel. Brute strength? Pfft, naaaah, he'll just cut through like a SMART mech out to. So, he sets to work, with the usual surgical precision reserved for someone that's accustomed to using these sorts of tools. < mean, unless someone's got a missile that doubles as a door-opener... and is NOT Triggerhappy.>> Combat: Dustoff takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Triggerhappy is quite amused by just how annoyed Dustoff and Blast Off are. Though of course he doesn't say so outright, and simply continues laughing inwardly. <> Hm, looks like there's some EDC in an exo out here. The rest are just puny fleshbags with no real armor so he focuses on her for the moment. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter misses Battlesuit with his Photon-Pulse Guns attack! Space Shuttle receives return gunfire but dodges it with his customary agility and speed. But hold on... the one shooting at him looks familiar... The Combaticon suddenly realizes it's the human who almost offlined him way back, several cycles ago... How totally embarrassing that was. And ewww... she crawled on him, too. How revolting! Yes... he has a score to settle with her.... the Combaticon cicrles back around, opening the hatch just under his nosecone this time. Weapon systems hum as his bombardment system powers up. Triggerhappy misses a shot, but Blast Off will not miss this time! "I remember you.... you had several lucky shots last time. This time you will not be so fortunate. I shall make your destruction quick, however." With that, he fires down on her! Combat: Space Shuttle sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Battlesuit with his Score to Settle attack! -5 ____ ____ ___ _ _ | ___| | _ \ / __| | | | | | ___| | |_) | | (__ |_| |_| |____| |____/ \___| (_) (_) <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Uh...so how do you -know- someone else won't get lucky?" Battlesuit keeps on the move- she dodges Triggerhappy's blasts (not that it's hard)- but then Blast Off's laser smacks right into her! She's thrown back by the force of the blast, and careens into a pile of barrels, which clatter all over the place accordingly! Still smoking, Melody pushes herself back to her booted feet...and again, she watches Blast Off circle above...and she locks her targeting computers onto him, holo-reticules lining up on her faceplate's HUD- even as the rack of rockets on her shoulder whirrs into place. "Time to fly the unfriendly skies, creep." she mutters- and then looses a rocket! *FWOOSH!* Combat: Battlesuit sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Battlesuit misses Space Shuttle with her High Impact Rocket attack! Andi Lassiter watches the mech find the vault holding the prototypes and start cutting at the door with a larger version of her own laser scalpel. Oh heck no. She waits just long enough for Dustoff to be engrossed in what he's doing, then darts forward and stabs at his wrist with her own impromptu weapon, aiming for the delicate wires and actuator filaments are hidden beneath the armor there. Combat: Andi Lassiter misses Dustoff with her scalpel to the wrist (Punch) attack! <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "GAAHHH! A parasite!" ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "I just know, Triggerhappy. We are superior beings, after all." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Well... *I* am, at least." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Yeah but we're not omniscient!" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Meh." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "What parasite, Dustoff? If there are scraplets anywhere nearby, I am leaving." Dustoff catches Andi's movement just inside his peripherals and is quick to move his hand out of the way. "Tsk... I just patched that one up. Like slag am I letting you rip it open again." He shuffles in place and reaches out to grab the human with his free hand. "Alright, c'mere you... I don't feel like opening up the lock the hard way, so you get to help me." He chuckles a little darkly than might be considered comfortable... well, for a non-Con, anyway. <> Combat: Dustoff sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Dustoff strikes Andi Lassiter with his C'mere you I need a hostage. (Grab) attack! <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Nah, this one's squishy." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Eww." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "You're not going to squish it, then expect to ride in my cargo bay later, right?" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Gonna see if her friends will open doors in exchange for not squishing it. But if that doesn't work? Then yeah, that's exactly what I'm expecting to do." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Very well. Proceed. But if you get their energon all over you, do not expect a ride with me." <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "When was the last time you saw inside your bay?" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "I mean, hate to break it to ya, but you've got sticky floors." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "...... Why do you ask?" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "WHAT?" <'Decepticon'> Harrow snrrrk. <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Swear I saw footprints on the ceiling, too." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off can be heard activating sprinkler systems. <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "And water everywhere." <'Decepticon'> Harrow says, "Hey we can get a hazmat team in there if you want, Blast Off!" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Some good heavy-grit sand should do the trick. Blast that junk right off. Might get the paint, too." <'Decepticon'> Hinder says, "I didn't do it!" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Uh, no... I should be fine.... I'm just going to take a very long shower after we're done here. Very long, long shower. Blast? I don't want anything blasting INSIDE my cargo bay, thank you." Battlesuit taps at the side of her helmet, getting a radio report- "Dammit! All units, we've got a hostage situation here...everyone draw back to a defensible perimeter- let the 'cons take what they want, and they should wander off without hurting anyone. But if they do...well, an artillery strike's getting lined up." she says, grimly- and then bounds away from the fray! Space Shuttle evades the attack again. Now THIS is more like how it's SUPPOSED to be! This time he will show that puny organic who is the superior species! He fires a few shots here and there but keeps his main focus on Melody, who still appears to be the main combatant. There are several guards firing at the Decepticons, but their firepower is no match for the Cybertonians. Then all goes silent as Dustoff's taking of a hostage successfully halts the humans' operations. Melody flees as Blast Off smirks under his faceplate. He would follow and take a few more shots, but he has work to do. So he transforms and lands on the ground near the building Dustoff has Andi. Making his way towards them, he radios: <> Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Combat: Blast Off takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Neutral. ____ ____ ___ _ _ | ___| | _ \ / __| | | | | | ___| | |_) | | (__ |_| |_| |____| |____/ \___| (_) (_) Andi Lassiter should have suspected that Decepticon armor plating was tougher than she's used to dealing with, on top of the fact that her laser scalpel is like a microtool compared to the one Dustoff was using. So also she managed to do was draw the mech's attention and get nabbed by him. Oh, several Autobots are going to be SO angry at her for not running to hide with everyone else. She struggles against the hand restraining her like she's a Barbie doll in a child's hand and hopes someone is able to hear her comlink. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Dustoff says, "So, here's the deal... I'm a medic, so shootin' you in the face just ain't quite my style. However, surgical testing seems to be appealing right now. So, either I get to have my fun on a meatsack, or you open that door right there and let me get to it." The medic's tone seems nonchalant enough, but that might make it a little more unsettling. "I've no qualms when it comes to that thing you'd call 'Malpractice'." As the comlink chirps, he just motions at the door patiently. He'll even make sure the human can reach! <'ve got one, working on a little negotiating to make sure everyone gets out of here with smiles on their faces. Or, at least a pulse on their end.>>" Blast Off heads into the building, following Dustoff's signal until he spies the other Con and the human. He stops and crosses his arms. "Ah, this was the "squishie" you mentioned? Well, hurry up... we do not know how long before reenforcements arrive." He watches the two, ionic blaster in hand should the human attempt an escape, but not pointed at her... yet. Triggerhappy hasn't been paying attention to anything, he's having too much fun shooting up the place. And perhaps he's forgotten that they were here for a reason -other- than shooting up the place. "Hahahahahahahah!!" he can be heard laughing maniacally outside, guns blazing everywhere, in every possible direction at once. <> ____ ____ ___ _ _ | ___| | _ \ / __| | | | | | ___| | |_) | | (__ |_| |_| |____| |____/ \___| (_) (_) Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter 's I'm all good! attack on Andi Lassiter goes wild! Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes himself with his I'm all good! (Full-Auto) Area attack! Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter 's I'm all good! attack on Blast Off goes wild! Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes himself with his I'm all good! (Full-Auto) Area attack! Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter 's I'm all good! attack on Dustoff goes wild! Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter misses himself with his I'm all good! (Full-Auto) Area attack! <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "I swear!" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Dustoff. I hear that the fleshlings sometimes take someone who annoys them out to the desert, shoots them, burys them and the body is never found. In your medical opinion, would it be possible to hide a buried Cybertronian from scanners?" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "I ask for ...no particular reason, of course." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy cackles. <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Just assign him to guard prisoners. Who cares if they get shot up?" Andi Lassiter flinches as Dustoff's hold on her puts stress on the wound on her arm. Yes, Blast Off, she's BLEEDING on the medic's hand. But despite that, she's apparently still kind of feisty. "I don't have the access codes for that thing, I'm just a visitor here." The way her arms are trapped, she doesn't really have any way to reach for anything else out of her bag. Not at the moment, anyway. <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Good point. Triggerhappy, you have guard duty when we get back." Combat: Andi Lassiter takes extra time to steady herself. Pass ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Dustoff looks Andi over. "Nothing of value? Well...that puts us in a bit of a bind. See, I told you I don't think shootin' you in the face is my style...but it's absol-" He ducks as Triggerhappy's little show goes overboard and stray rounds pepper the area around him. < SWEAR!>> "Going to KILL that one..." He pulls out his rifle and levels it at Andi before unceremoniously dropping her to the ground. "You know what? Forget what's my style. Make somethin' happen that I find favorable, or I'm gonna introduce you to a heated plasma slug. B.O. here might just do the same." Air Raid has arrived. Blast Off looks sort of grossed out at the blood. "That... thing is leaking, Dustoff." He shakes his head. "They are so easily damaged. It's a wonder they survive day to day. I would think a harsh environment such as this one would prove inhospitable to them, yet they somehow persist." He glares at Andi coldly as she falls to the ground. "Unfortunately." The building shakes, thanks to Triggerhappy's shooting, but happily Blast Off is protected from any damage by being inside. <> To Dustoff's last statement he nods, gripping his blaster a little tighter for show. "Yes, fleshling,,, do please get on with it. You are wasting our valuable time... well, MY valuable time at least." He then glares at Dustoff. "....And the name is NOT B.O." <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Really, BO? We're gonna start that now? Here? Why you gotta call me out like that in front of the human?" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Makes us look like amateurs." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off sniffs. If you don't want to be called out as an amatuer, then don't act like one. <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Hey now, who managed to get us the upper hand here?" Triggerhappy's shots blow up some fuel tanks, or something, and debris flies into his engines. "Unnghh!" Fire blossoms out of them, and he goes spinning off course, spiraling toward the ground. In fact, he's going to crash right into that building, where his teammates are, and where the technology they are after is, too. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter strikes Dustoff with his AHHHHH (Ram) attack! <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, ".... That is true, I suppose. You helped... with my direction of course. Continue on then." <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Hnnngs*zzzt*" <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Owwwww." Let's just say it's good Dusty dropped Andi... because no sooner did he do that? Well, he's not quite standing there anymore. The great disappearing Dustoff! ... ow... ____ ____ ___ _ _ | ___| | _ \ / __| | | | | | ___| | |_) | | (__ |_| |_| |____| |____/ \___| (_) (_) <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "All I can say is... I didn't WANT to bring Triggerhappy.... a higher-up insisted he come along on this mission. I think so the higher-up could get rid of Triggerhappy for awhile." Andi Lassiter yelps as she's unceremoniously dropped from Dustoff's grip, crying out in pain as the landing wrenches on of her knees and leaves her sprawled on the floor. She's about to toss another unhelpful retort (stalling for time!) but then her eyes go wide as she sees Triggerhappy careening into the building straight toward Dustoff and curls up, shielding her head with her arms. Not good, not good... She can't tell the Decepticon medic is simply elsewhere now. F-15E Strike Eagle comes tearing in from the western skies with little thought to stealth. Gotta' find Andi. Well he finds a wreck of a building, but more notably Triggerhappy crashing /into/ said building. He knows that damn Dustoff is around here too thanks to the frequency. "HEY SLAGGERS!" he shouts, swooping down sharply to sling a volley of laserfire at Triggerhappy's thrusters. "Run while you still have legs!" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Something's rattling in my head. IN MY HEAD! Do you KNOW how hard it was to get everything back in place after Velum?" Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle strikes Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter with his Laser attack! <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Finally! Someone to shoot at again!" ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Dustoff is indeed elsewhere... He missed Triggerhappy's spectacular approach and broke the hapless fighter-jet's fall, ending up through a wall. Well, at least they don't need the key-card anymore... Of course, the medic is looking like he got rolled under a Prime's trailer at this point. Ow... He clears himself from the debris and grabs for some patch-material out of his kit, doing a quick bit of repair work to some vital lines, and patching a cracked plate, before standing proper. <> He sighs, looking around... <> Combat: Dustoff quickly patches up some of his minor injuries. Triggerhappy is sent careening right into Dustoff. Wouldn't be the first it's happened. But hey, it isn't his fault! Okay, his crazy shooting got him into this mess, but it wasn't on purpose! But he isn't fazed in the slightest, because along comes Air Raid to make his day better! Finally someone interesting to shoot at, because fleshlings are boring. Up he scrambles as quickly as he can, transforming and leveling Blowpipe upward at the airborne Aerialbot in an attempt to -blow- him down. He ignores Dustoff. Triggerhappy reverts to his root form. Combat: Triggerhappy sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Triggerhappy strikes F-15E Strike Eagle with his Compressed-Air Cannon attack! Combat: Triggerhappy uses up a charge on his Hand Pump booster pack! Blast Off suddenly finds the place getting very loud and very messy very quickly. Triggerhappy comes crashing in, and by the time Blast Off is firmly back on his feet... Air raid comes out of nowhere. "Great..." He complains, "I told you it was only a matter of time before reenforcements arrive." He looks at Raid contemptously. "And a turbo-turkey, at that." The Combaticon can't help but reflect back on the last time he met Raid on a military base. It did not go well for him, and it appeared to be the end of Blitzwing. A surge of anger flares up, though he remains looking fairly calm and collected. As much as he wants to shoot the Aerialbot, he instead remains near Andi, lifting his blaster up and pointing it at her. "Stay where you are, in case we need you for something later." He looks over at Air Raid. "I would be careful, Turbo-turkey. You wouldn't want to see an organic get squashed, would you?" For that matter- neither would he (ewww, gross).... but he's not going to tell Raid that. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Blast Off takes extra time to steady himself. Pass ____ ____ ___ _ _ | ___| | _ \ / __| | | | | | ___| | |_) | | (__ |_| |_| |____| |____/ \___| (_) (_) Andi Lassiter stays curled up on the floor, though she does look up at Blast off when he threatens her to get Air Raid to back off. She tries to think fast. This is a REALLY bad situation, but there's got to be something she can... wait. Clutching at her injured arm, she gets blood generously smeared all over her right hand, grimacing at the contact. Then she lets go of her arm and turns to plant her bloodied hand on the closest part of Blast Off's foot that she can reach. Combat: Andi Lassiter misses Blast Off with her I got squishie-cooties on you (Grab) attack! Who knew air could hit so hard! Air Raid gets a nice blast of the cannon right beneath his nosecone, and the force sends him spinning violently. It's a good thing he can take the G's! But it takes him a good moment to recover, and when he does, he's drifting aimlessly as the world fails to stay level. Raid eventually spots Andi, apparently being guarded by Blast Off, and drops to land nearby. "Ugh you fragfaces are low." His warbow his drawn but no arrow is generated just yet as he tries to think of how to proceed without getting Andi blasted. "Turbo-turkey's getting pretty old y'know! It's not even November anymore!" Air Raid folds and compacts into his robot mode. Combat: Air Raid sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Air Raid takes extra time to steady himself. Pass ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Dustoff is back in (mostly) working order...and with everyone distracted elsewhere, sets to work. He unstraps an empty ammo box from his supply pack and just starts piling anything worth looking at in. Computers, a few electronic devices for diagnostics and other such things... and then there's the vault. He frowns and pulls his rifle out, aiming at the hinges to breech proper, pausing only momentarily throughout it all to try and shake some nagging pain or another out of his hand. "Ugh... pain in the aft..." Combat: Dustoff compares his Firepower to 6: Success! Combat: Dustoff compares his Firepower to 7: Success! Triggerhappy is shocked that Air Raid doesn't shoot back. I mean, -what-? Come ON! "What's the matter, Autobum? You're not -scared- are you?" he taunts, hovering into the air and continuing to fire all over the place, even while Dustoff is trying to loot because that's what he does. Combat: Triggerhappy misses Air Raid with his Full-Auto Area attack! -1 Combat: Triggerhappy misses Blast Off with his Full-Auto Area attack! -1 Combat: Triggerhappy strikes Dustoff with his Full-Auto Area attack! -1 Blast Off is just standing there, minding his own business... when he is suddenly and inexplicably attacked by Andi Lassiter! (GASP!) Ok, maybe not really... but the fussy Combaticon jumps away, startled, as the human tries to smear her "leaking energon" all over him. "UGH! Watch it fleshling! I have no idea where you or your energon has been, and I just got a new paint job!" Looking throroughly disgusted, he takes a step back... though his blaster whips back up to point at her. He looks at Dustoff, then back to Andi, and huffs: "Do these things have germs? I bet they do. You keep your distance, fleshling." To Raid he scoffs, "But I LIKE the classics. Turbo-turkey fits you so well! When one finds something that works, I like to keep doing it. If it isn't broken, don't fix it, ...isn't that what the fleshlings say?" Then Triggerhappy shoots again. Blast Off ducks out of the way in time, thanks to his agility, but Dustoff isn't so lucky- again. The Combaticon has had it now. "THAT DOES IT." Swinging his blaster around to Triggerhappy and ignoring Andi for a moment, he says, "You do that one more time, and cost us this mission- I will shoot YOU." <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Uh...guys? I'm kinda leaking a little over here now." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Do you require assistance?" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Nnng... no. I'm still functional... for now." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Then finish your acquisitions and we shall be off before this fleshling leaks on ME." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Wahhh, poor Blast Off, he just got meatbag juice on his armor!" <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says this in a particularly high-pitched tone. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Air Raid manages to dodge the errant shot from Triggerhappy, somehow. He leers as Blast Off scoffs, but his scowling quickly fades when Blast Off decides to turn and threaten the shooty 'con. A moment spared, Raid takes it, swiftly darting in to take Andi in his hands as quickly as he can manage without making things worse. Hopefully. <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "......" <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Quick, wash it off before he melts!" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Hush up, Triggerhappy." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "....Though.... Dustoff... what he says wouldn't actually happen, ....would it?" <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy cracks up. Well, it was worth a try. Andi almost resigns herself to being Blast Off's bargaining chip when she realizes he's paying attention to that other jet over there. THis is her chance to... get scooped up by Air Raid. The moment she realizes this she hooks her uninjured arm around the Aerialbot's thumb so he doesn't have to worry about possibly dropping her. <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Nnng...no." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off whews. Dustoff is in the process of removing a vault door by force when he feels that all-too familiar searing pain through his back and into his chassis. Though, he doesn't see it come from Triggerhappy directly, so...maybe that's for the better. Slumping against the heavy door, he tries to recover, throwing the inconvenient obstacle aside and straightening up once more... <> Staggering into the vault, he starts loading up whatever 'missiles' he spies, not sure which ones might be the right ones, and slams the ammo-container into its spot once it's full. With that done, the medic's hauling himself out of the vault and back towards Blast Off. "Let's blow this joint, BO..." Combat: Dustoff takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Blast Off has his optics on Triggerhappy, thus he doesn't see Air Raid dart in until it's too late. Catching the movement in the corner of his optics, he whirls around as Raid grabs Andi. He huffs, bringing his blaster up to follow Raid, but doesn't move from his spot. "Fine- you just go ahead- catch Primus knows what germs from her, then, Aerialbuffoon!!" He looks down at his leg and notices some blood splatters. "Gah!" Shaking a foot, he starts trying to rub it against what's left of a wall to wipe the mess away- which only serves to bring that part of the wall down. There's another annoyed huff as he moves rapidly away from that newly crumbling area towards Dustoff. "Good. I am ready to be rid of this miserable place. So unhygienic... ." He keeps muttering for awhile until he finally stops to look at Dustoff and his bounty and ask, "Let me guess... you probably need my cargo bay for all this, don't you?" As he asks, he makes a point to look at what condition Dustoff is in. "You're not going to leak all over me, right?" Air Raid immediately hunches to shield Andi close to his chest, but he does offer a parting wave at Blast Off, "Say hi to Blitzwing for me! Oh, wait! Hahaha!" :( Hmmm, hopefully what they're stealing isn't /too/ important. Looks like Blast Off isn't interested more of a scuffle. "You okay Andi?" he asks, sprinting for the nearest cover. Combat: Air Raid begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Blast Off Dustoff looks at Blast Off, offering only the most incredulous of glares. "I can carry it fine. We do need to get off-planet and you're a shuttle, but...yeesh. Seriously? You're worried about me leaking energon on you?" He looks down at the various holes punched through his armor, only now realizing the latest ones match prior ones... "Of course they do..." Triggerhappy's guns are like, still going off. <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "You mechs done yet? Still need your diversion! HAHA!" <'Decepticon'> Dustoff says, "Please stop trying to kill me." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "Don't look at me. Just followin' orders." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "STOP creating a DIVERSION, Triggerhappy. There- NEW orders." <'Decepticon'> Triggerhappy says, "So we're done here? Well geez, you only -just- said so!" Blast Off watches the Aerialbot retreat with a haughty look on his face... up until Air Raid brings up Blitzwing. The Combaticon's anger suddenly flairs up again and he whips his gun out and fires at the retreating form. "You will be paying for that, Aerialbot. If not today... soon." Not that Blast Off misses Blitzwing or anything. Of course not! The fact that Blast Off hasn't even been to a bar since Blitzwing... "left"... that has nothing to do with it. Then he turns to look at Dustoff. "... I... I just... Oh, never mind. I will transform and you can load the objects in. Just be quick- and don't be messy." And he does just that, after getting back out in the open of course. "And STOP creating a DIVERSION, Triggerhappy." Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Blast Off strikes Air Raid with his Payback attack! -3 "HOKAY! Guess we're done then!" Triggerhappy laughs, then transforms and takes off, smoke pouring out of his aft. Triggerhappy transforms into a blue and white Cybertronian aircraft. Combat: Cybertronian Turbo-Thrust Jet Fighter begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. "Yeah," Andi says a bit breathlessly when Air Raid asks if she's okay. "Nothing that won't heal... except maybe my dignity." She can't help but worry also about what the Decepticons are making off with. The only consolation she can really think of is that those are all preliminary prototypes, not even lab-tested yet. They may well blow up in the faces of anyone that tries to use them. She kind of hopes they do. Air Raid has left. Air Raid heads back to OOC-Land.